Latest news with #JohnMcCann
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Voting begins in runoff race for District 1 seat on Board of Supervisors
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Voting is officially underway in the runoff special election for the vacant District 1 seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. The Registrar of Voters mailed ballots to all registered voters in the South County district on Monday, giving residents just shy of a month to cast a vote in the race between Chula Vista Mayor John McCann and Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre. Completed ballots can either be returned through the U.S. Postal Service or by placing them in one of the more the two dozen drop boxes set to open up in the lead up to race day. To keep tabs on the ballot as it makes its way to the registrar for tabulation, voters can sign up for the county's 'Where's My Ballot?' tool. D1 Special Election: What to know | The Candidates | How to vote | More Stories District 1 residents who want to vote in person will be able to do so beginning on Saturday, June 21, when the first crop of seven vote centers opens. Just over a dozen additional polling places will be up and running on the final day of voting on Tuesday, July 1. Maps of all the vote centers and drop box locations across South County available to collect completed ballots can be found on the Registrar of Voters' website. The runoff between McCann and Aguirre will decide the successor to former Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas following her abrupt resignation from public office in November of last year — just weeks after winning a second term. The race narrowed from a field of seven candidates to a South Bay mayoral showdown after no one secured more than 50% of the vote — the threshold for an outright win — in the special election's first round back in March. Whoever wins in the runoff will serve out the remainder of the term Vargas vacated, which runs through January 2029. Since the race is at a district level, only residents who live within its boundaries will be eligible to cast a vote in the race. This includes neighborhoods in south San Diego, such as Barrio Logan, Chollas View, East Village and Golden Hill, as well as the whole of Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and National City. San Diegans can look up their supervisorial district on the Registrar of Voters website. All residents who are already signed up to vote in the district will be able to participate in the election, but the Registrar of Voters' office encourages people to check their voter status before the registration deadline passes on Monday, June 16. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Recap of State of the City Address in Chula Vista
CHULA VISTA, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Hundreds of people turned out for the State of the City Address for Chula Vista on Tuesday. 'This year's budget has no cuts in services, no layoffs, and fully funded reserves,' said Mayor John McCann from the City of Chula Vista — a brag that is becoming more rare in the County of San Diego. The mayor gushed over the completion of the Gaylord Pacific project, the additions to the city's fire and police departments, and he also focused on public safety. 'The department responds to priority one emergency calls on an average of 5 minutes and 50 seconds,' said McCann. Coronado shoreline closed due to sewage from Tijuana River Economically, it's hard to miss the Gaylord Resort towering above the bay. Mayor McCann says for a local like him, he's still in shock to see a project through that started in the early 2000s. 'For decades we have wanted to something incredibly nice on the bayfront, and we finally made it happen,' he stated. 'I'm just incredibly proud that I'm the mayor when they opened it.' Fixing the cross-border sewage problem is also something Chula Vista has started working on. Overall the message is clear: while most cities are struggling, Chula Vista says for now this is their time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Mail & Guardian
11-05-2025
- General
- Mail & Guardian
Female architects ensure potty parity
(Graphic: John McCann/M&G) Ever wondered why the queue to the women's public toilets is forever stretching around the block while men roll in and out of their facilities with ease? A new line of men begins to form as they wait for their wives, daughters and girlfriends to leave the women's toilets. I pondered the question of potty parity in real estate while I was quite literally standing in the restroom queue. It is true that women typically take longer in a bathroom setting than men, but this does not alter the question. It comes down to design bias. Most of these public spaces, where this issue of long wait times for women is encountered, were designed by men. Men who decided that an equal toilet ratio would be suitable for both genders to make use of. It's safe to say that female architects were significantly underrepresented when most of these buildings were designed and built. The American Institute of Architects has published mountains of demographic data about the architecture industry. I read that in 1970, roughly 1% of registered architects in the United States were women. By 1980, this number grew slightly to about 4%. Many of the buildings and their toilet facilities I referred to above were built during this period. In terms of the architectural sector in South Africa, a 2019 article states that, according to the South African Institute of Architects in the Eastern Cape, only 21% of registered architectural professionals in the country are women. This is still extremely low. Without the female perspective in spatial planning, it's no wonder we are stuck with long restroom queues. Flash forward to today and I am pleased to see women in all aspects of real estate taking their place at the table and sharing their valuable expertise. There are now more female architects, property developers, brokers, chief executives, and chief financial officers of publicly listed real estate investment trusts, as well as owners of real estate-related service companies, than at any other time in history. The Leonardo skyscraper, located at 75 Maude Street in Sandton, Johannesburg, is the tallest building in South Africa and the fourth-tallest building in Africa. The building spans 55 floors and is 234m high. It has 232 apartments, nine conference venues, 1 251 parking bays and eight penthouse suites. Some three-storey penthouses have been listed online for sale for a staggering R250 million. Did you know that a predominantly female team designed the tallest building in South Africa? Nine out of the 11 architects were women. They include Catharine Atkins, Malika Walele, Salome Daley, Janel Venter, Megan Holman, Angela Barnard, Keitsitse Losaba, Antonella Giuricich and Rachel Zwane. The main contractor for this development was Aveng Grinaker-LTA and the architects were Co-Arc International Architects. They broke ground on 17 November 2015, and the development was completed in 2019. Amenities inside this mixed-use tower include restaurants, bars, a spa and a gym, a Montessori crèche and a swimming deck. Alto234 is a bar at the top of the Leonardo offering sensational 360-degree views of Johannesburg (especially beautiful when the jacarandas are in bloom and the landscape is a sea of purple). This is the highest bar in Africa. Among the residential apartments, retail and office space is the Legacy Hotels & Resorts 240-room hotel. The art collection displayed throughout the building is impressive. More than 100 contemporary African artists were asked to create unique works specifically for this building. There are close to 1 500 unique artworks displayed on the interior walls. A notable piece is the entrance area's chandelier with more than 80 000 squares of hand-assembled metal. The artwork is titled The Ancestor, which was curated, commissioned and directed by The Trinity Session. Half a tonne of copper, stainless steel and brass was used to create this stand-out piece. These materials were inspired by Johannesburg, the City of Gold. Another notable artwork is the tall, colourful artwork by Mbongeni Buthelezi. This artist heated plastic to create an oil-painting effect. Another notable building whose design team was woman-led is the Mall of Africa. Completed in 2016, this shopping mall is famous for its size — 131 038m2 — and being the largest single-phase mall developed in South Africa. Tia Kanakakis was the principal designer at MDS Architecture. The mall's design reflects Africa's unique geological characteristics and landscapes. It includes different sections, such as the Oleum Court, which represents the oil-rich regions of West Africa; the Great Lakes Court, symbolising East Africa; the Crystal Court, showcasing Southern Africa's mineral resources; and the Sand Court, which captures the essence of the desert dunes found in North Africa. The mall is home to more than 300 shops and 6 500 parking bays and has won multiple awards for its design. Last, I want to praise Ashleigh Killa, the co-founder of The MAAK, an architectural studio based in Cape Town. They were responsible for designing a TB testing lab for the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation in Masiphumelele, Cape Town. I wrote about this lab a few years ago because I was (and still am) a huge fan of the bold design. Thanks to this lab, the foundation can advance its research on this illness while also providing support to the local community. The building was built in 2019 and spans 500m2. Cheers to Ashleigh and her team for being trailblazers in aesthetically pleasing design for public infrastructure that serves the communities most in need. I wish more designers of public infrastructure would be inspired by her approach when it comes to the design of a site like this. Just because it's public infrastructure does not mean we need to put up some depressing, brutalist blob. In a field long dominated by men, the women I've highlighted stand as powerful reminders that architectural brilliance knows no gender. Their work, rooted in innovation and social awareness, is not only shaping the skylines of South Africa but also transforming the way we inhabit our spaces. These women architects are designing more than buildings; they are building futures that are inclusive, sustainable and undeniably bold. As their effect ripples through communities and across generations, one thing becomes clear: the future of South African architecture is not only female, it's visionary. Ask Ash examines South Africa's property, architecture and living spaces. Continue the conversation with her on email (
Mail & Guardian
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Democracy and freedom? Language and meaning in post-apartheid South Africa
(Graphic: John McCann) In Setswana, democracy is rendered kgololosego, which translates directly to freedom. Similarly, when academic Freedom is the condition to which an agent can think, choose and act without undue external coercion or internal constraint. In a study of post-apartheid understandings of democracy, academics One of the respondents they interviewed was Baba Nhlapo, of the Kuruman village in the Northern Cape, who remarked: '… we are free, but to our side, we don't see democracy, we just see bad life. Because they [the ANC] say a better life but to our side it's a bad life. So, I don't think they [the ANC are] using the word democracy properly.' This statement highlights a disjuncture between the promise of democracy and the realities of those on the margins. Similarly, in her doctoral research on the evolving dynamics of state-society relations in South Africa, with a focus on Duncan Village township and the Buffalo City metropolitan municipality, Ndlovu found that the interactions between state representatives and communities reflect an ongoing struggle for inkululeko — an objective that residents of Duncan Village claim was never achieved with the end of apartheid. As residents in the township noted, the democracy that was achieved is not one they fought for. This reinforces what philosopher Tracing the disjuncture The view that democracy is not what was fought for resonates with sentiments long communicated between citizens, activists and liberation leaders. This does not imply a rejection of democracy or a lack of appreciation for political rights. Rather, it highlights a disconnect between formal democratic gains — such as elections and civil liberties — and the substantive freedoms people envisioned: economic justice, land redistribution, dignity and equality. Ndlovu states that democracy presents a 'new' battlefield on which the struggles for the realisation of inkululeko continue to be fought. In other words, South Africans may have achieved democracy, but not the freedom(s) they imagined. The anti-apartheid movement was consistently framed in terms of a ' As such, the achievement of democracy without transformation is experienced as an incomplete liberation. The realisation of inkululeko remains a deferred promise. (Graphic: John McCann/M&G) Why language is important The insights from the works cited draw attention to the importance of understanding how democracy is conceptualised through lived experience and historical memory. Language plays a crucial role in this process. The absence of a direct vernacular equivalent for 'democracy' in many South African languages suggests a deeper disconnect between the institutionalisation of democracy and its daily practice, between state and society, between expectations and institutional performance. This disjuncture reveals that democracy, as introduced in South Africa, was primarily structured around institutions, laws and procedures — not necessarily around redressing the socio-economic injustices entrenched by apartheid. Equally important, it was not structured around the economic, political and ethical maxims that are deeply embedded in the ethical and communal values of ubuntu. This reality becomes more apparent when considering how many South Africans, particularly in marginalised communities, articulate democracy less in terms of elections and procedures, and more through expectations of dignity, justice and communal accountability. The gap between how democracy is institutionally framed and how it is lived by citizens reveals a dual dissonance: first, between democracy and substantive freedom, and second, between democratic governance and citizens' everyday experiences of political life. This divergence is particularly striking in South Africa, where the formal institutional apparatus of democracy coexists with widespread dissatisfaction and disillusionment. Despite relatively strong scores on governance indicators, South Africa is one of the few countries on the continent where public support for and satisfaction with democracy remains notably low. It is crucial to avoid equating the decline in support with the wholesale rejection of democracy without interrogating how daily experiences shape democratic perceptions. Support for democracy in South Africa remains fragile. From 2000 to 2011, support increased from 60% to 72%. But, from 2011 to 2022, it declined from 72% to 40% before rising to 42% in 2023. This modest recovery coincides with a slight improvement in governance scores during the same period. As illustrated in the figure, there is a positive correlation between public perceptions of democracy and overall governance quality. Periods of declining governance are generally accompanied by reductions in both satisfaction with and support for democracy. Conversely, modest improvements in governance tend to be met with slight increases in democratic perceptions. Notably, 2011 marked the highest recorded levels of support for (72%), and satisfaction (60%) with, democracy. But the Worldwide Governance Indicators score remained constant between 2010 and 2011. This divergence may be partly attributed to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, which ushered in a period of extensive infrastructure development and improvements in service delivery — factors that probably enhanced perceptions of state performance. Post-2011, both governance scores and democratic perceptions have been in steady decline. Furthermore, a long-standing trend persists in which many South Africans are willing to trade democratic processes for material benefits. As early as 2000, According to the 2024 Afrobarometer survey, These findings do not reflect a wholesale rejection of democracy, but rather a deep frustration with government performance. This is further evidenced by the fact that across all Afrobarometer surveys, support for democracy has consistently exceeded satisfaction with democracy. This observation reveals a polity in which intrinsic attachment to democratic rule endures, while instrumental confidence in its ability to deliver is eroding. Furthermore, the findings signify the centrality of socio-economic wellbeing — particularly for black South Africans who remain largely excluded from post-apartheid prosperity — in shaping attitudes toward democracy. Where to from here? The term 'democracy' originates from the Greek These conditions point to a fragile and increasingly dysfunctional democratic ecosystem. Addressing South Africa's deep socio-economic problems and realising the long-standing struggle for inkululeko or kgololosego cannot happen in isolation from how democracy is understood, practiced and institutionalised. Any genuine democratic project must be grounded not only in the rule of law and free elections but also in the experiences, cultural meanings and expectations of its people. Language, as a carrier of these meanings, must therefore be taken seriously. A democracy that fails to speak the language of its people — both literally and figuratively — is unlikely to gain their enduring support. Dr Mmabatho Mongae is the lead analyst in the governance insights and analytics programme at Good Governance Africa.
Mail & Guardian
01-05-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
The power of Africa's critical minerals
Endowed with a third of the world's supply of them, the continent must push for actions that have the most benefits for its people. (Per-) At the turn of 2025, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the African Union and the continent's governments delivered a bold new The chances of realising this goal, especially within this short period, depends on the extent to which the continent takes charge and overcomes external competing interests. Over time, Africa's pursuit of climate justice, including a just energy transition, has been hampered by self-interest and the strong positions held by rich countries and billionaires — positions that have prevailed over reason and the common good. For example, last year's 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) finally agreed on a paltry $300 billion of climate finance annually by 2035 against the $1.3 trillion per year by 2030 that Majority World countries had Africa has been denied not only access to climate funds but also the technology needed for a green transition, as rich countries delay their own transition, resulting in a lack of Plans by big oil companies from rich countries, such as ExxonMobil, BP and Total Energies, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 indicate that they are not treating the need to bring emissions under control with the urgency it deserves. Similarly, the energy transition frameworks of African countries such as This is due to the inability of African economies to rapidly phase out fossil fuels, given their overreliance on crude oil and coal-based power production; the fragility of their economic performance as well as a global economic order primarily run by rich countries. Rich countries' self-interest is evident in the nature of their investment in Majority World countries. For instance, Europe's biggest energy investment in Africa, a (Graphic: John McCann/M&G) The irony of this one-sided partnership between Europe and Africa is contained in Europe's plan to implement the controversial EU Carbon Border Adjustment The tax implications will have serious ramifications on trade partners such as Africa. African Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina With the emerging demand for Africa's critical minerals, estimated at 30% of the global reserve, and a looming second mineral resource boom, Africa has a real opportunity to level the playing field by designing the rules of engagement to facilitate a just, equitable, fair and socially inclusive energy transition. African leaders and the civil society must not relent in their call for climate justice. They must continue to demand that the international financial systems urgently address Africa's debt burden, especially by supporting a long-term measure for a true sovereign debt convention within the UN that will permit poorer countries to take part in decisions on debt treatment. With the continent spending 34% of revenue on debt repayment, little is left for crucial public services such as health, education and social protection, hence it is not surprising that governments have deprioritised the just energy transition. During the G20 finance ministers meeting in South Africa in March, African leaders were unanimous in their Protectionist policies veiled as climate taxes, such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, must also be struck out and replaced with an increased flow of grants to finance cleaner energy projects. The continent needs more grants and fewer loans to drive investment in clean energy solutions without recreating neoliberal economic dependency models. At minimum, the EU should exempt African countries from theCarbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. In addition, the African Petroleum Producers' Organisation should consider a special-purpose vehicle for fossil-for-critical minerals investments that would tap into the investments pool of the already-capitalised Africa Energy Bank to shore up South-South This would unlock investment in green minerals and propel Africa swiftly into cleaner fuels, ready to take on the future. However, it does not negate the importance of African nations taking steps to develop national action plans geared towards implementing the recently launched Africa Green Minerals Strategy developed by the Africa Minerals Development Centre. With the uncertainty in geopolitical rules of engagement, Oxfam believes it has never been more urgent for Africa to shape a more just future by uniting in its demand for fair exchange to create a more sustainable future for all. Nkateko Chauke is the acting executive director and Francis Agbere is the economic justice lead at Oxfam in Africa.
